"My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost. . ."

Meet the hero of Hanif Kureishi's seminal debut novel, as he dreams of escape from suburban South London, desperate to experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announced itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving - albeit with some raucous results.